DEPENDING where you live in Penarth, you maybe able to see the high rise flats that surround the Senedd in Cardiff Bay.

My first meeting as a Member of the Senedd after being elected in May 2021 was with constituents concerned about cladding and fire safety in general in their flats.

Residents have continued their campaign for better fire safety in Wales. They have kept the pressure on decision makers for several years now. This issue of building safety in high rise homes follows the fire at the Grenfell Tower, London in 2017 where 72 people lost their lives.

I attended a cross party meeting earlier this month, on St David’s Day in the Senedd to hear an update about the campaign.

In the meeting we heard heart wrenching stories of people, young families like my own, worried about bringing up their children in their homes, and people nearing retirement putting their live savings in a home that they feel is not the investment that they hoped for in the later years.

There was a sense in the meeting of frustration that they had been forgotten when it comes to safety of their homes. We have people a stone’s throw away from the Senedd who are not sleeping at night. People are crippled with anxiety, people in fear for their own safety and the safety of their loved ones. One comment that hit home for me was that one man felt like a prisoner in their own home.

Following the meeting I have secured a short debate in the Senedd this week about the issue and the need for a clear timetable for the introduction of safety measures for residents.

In the long term I believe the Welsh Government should have the powers to introduce a windfall tax on the profits of large developers and use the proceeds to solve the problems created by poor buildings. At the moment many people are trapped in poor quality flats and houses with no recourse, which has been the case with the cladding scandal.

  • rhys.abowen@senedd.wales - 0300 200 7220